Tsing Yi Lagoon or Tsing Yi Tong, was a lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

 in east shore of Tsing Yi Island in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Its water came from a stream of the nearby valley Liu To

Liu To

Liu To is the area around the valley in the midwest of Tsing Yi Island. There is a stream in the valley watering the narrow band of agricultural fields of Liu To Village . Its water formerly filled the Tsing Yi Lagoon and nurtured the rice paddies around the lagoon but now is just water flowing...

 and its outlet was Tsing Yi Bay

Tsing Yi Bay

Tsing Yi Bay was a bay at the east side of Hong Kong's Tsing Yi Island, beside Rambler Channel, which is approximately Tsing Yi Park nowadays. The whole bay was reclaimed for the development of new town. Before reclamation, it was surrounded by places known as Tsing Leng Tsui , Sheung Ko Tan , Ha...

. It acted as the shelter for nearby boat people

Tanka (ethnic group)

The Tankas or Boat people is a special group of people in Southern China that has traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Hong Kong and Macau...

, especially after large-scale reclamation

Land reclamation in Hong Kong

Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...

 in Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...

 and Kwai Chung

Kwai Chung

Kwai Chung is a town in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Together with Tsing Yi Island, it is part of the Kwai Tsing District of Hong Kong. Kwai Chung is the site of the container port. It is also part of Tsuen Wan New Town. In 2000, it had a population of 287,000...

. Once their boats moved in the lagoon, they never moved out. This was because their boats were too old for fishing far away. The lagoon was unable to escape the fate of development. Both the lagoon and its neighbour water, Tsing Yi Bay, were reclaimed for new town

New towns of Hong Kong

The area of Hong Kong is very mountainous and many places in the New Territories have limited access to roads. Hong Kong started developing new towns in the 1950s, to accommodate booming populations. In the early days the term "satellite towns" was used. The very first new towns included Tsuen Wan...

. The boat people were forced to give up their boats and were relocated to public housing estate

Public housing in Hong Kong

Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the population now residing in some form of public housing...

 on the island.
After reclamation, the northern portion became Tsing Yi Estate and the remainder became temporary housing area

Temporary Housing Area

A Temporary Housing Area or THA is an area designated for people living in temporary houses made by wood frames and zinc plates in Hong Kong. The houses are built by the Hong Kong Government. Each house is divided into tens of tiny flats, with one flat per household...

s, which were demolished later.